Strap buckle



June 9, 1959 A. N. PERRY ET AL 2,889,599

STRAP BUCKLE Filed oct. 27, 1955 STRAP BUCKLE Archie N. Perry, Wilmette, and Frank A. Cechner, La Grange, lli., assignors to Siguode Steel Strapping Company, Ehicago, lll., a corporation of Delaware Appiication October 27, 1955, Serial No. 543,049

3 Claims. (Cl. 24-Z1) The present invention relates to strap buckles, and in particular to a new and improved strap buckle useful in making joints between the overlapping ends of heavy duty strapping in such fashion that the connection is rendered effective by the application of tension to the strap ends. The strap buckle of the present invention finds particular application in the logging industry, although it is useful in other environments as will be more apparent from the following description.

ln the logging industry it is customary to bring the felled logs to a convenient waterway and to connect the logs into booms to float them to the sawmill or pulp mill to be transformed into useful lumber or pulp.

lt has long been recognized that the logs could be effectively handled if they could be tied together in some way before being dumped into the water, and therefore a number of logs would be formed into bundles to be transported directly in that form to the mill or to be connected together in larger booms. To bind the logs together with wire or strapping which would tightly encircle the logs, seems to be the obvious expedient. It must be remembered that these log bundles may weigh up to 80,000 pounds, and when dropped from a height of several feet into the water, tremendous force is applied to the bundle to cause internal shifting and expansion of the bundle. Thus when such tightly tied bundles are dropped into the water the shifting of the logs in the load places such a great strain upon the binding or strapping that Ithe latter snaps and the bundle breaks to allow the logs to separate.

rl'he strap buckle of the present invention when used with heavy duty strapping enables the restraining strapping to be placed about the bundle of logs in such fashion that there is inherently in the arrangement a sul`u`cient amount of slack so that the bundle of logs, upon striking the water, may shift or rearrange itself without snapping the strapping, and the tension on the strapping moves the buckle elements relative to each other to tighten the connection.

lt is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide a new and improved strap buckle or connector for strapping, which becomes tighter with the application of tensile forces to the strapping.

Another object is to provide a new and improved two part strap buckle which is adapted to be used with heavy duty strapping, and which requires no machine or special tools in order to apply to the strapping.

Another object is to provide a new and improved strap buckle which is particularly adapted for use in making up log bundles in the logging industry.

And a further object is to provide a new and improved strap buckle for uniting the ends of load binding strapping, which buckle may be reused.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. l is a perspective view showing a strapping tied log bundle or boom hitting the water after being un- 2,889,599 Patented June 9, 1959 loaded from a carrier with a similar bundle oating in the background and another on the carrier;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the closed loop portion of the connector or buckle;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the U-bolt portion of the connector or buckle;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the rst step in making the connection between strap ends by means of the buckle of this invention;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the U-bolt in position and before tension is applied to the strapping;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of the connection between the strap ends, showing the buckle parts in the position they assume after a stretching force has been applied to the strapping; and

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional View on an enlarged scale, taken along the line 7-7 of Fig. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the drawings, the reference character 10 refers to a log bundle which is composed of a number of individual logs 12 secured or held together by encircling straps 14. The number of straps would be dictated by the length of the logs and the three straps shown in the drawing are intended merely to be illustrative. The strapping cornpletely encircles the load of logs 12 and the overlapping ends of the strapping are connected together by a buckle or connector 16 which forms the subject matter of the present invention.

The strapping 14, in the particular disclosure of this specification, is of the heavy duty type and may be strapping Which is two inches Wide with a thickness of .050. This type strapping is difficult to apply to any bundle or package by means of manually operated tools, and it is, therefore, customary to use power operated tools, such as air pressure operated stretchers and Sealers. However, when using the strap buckle of the present invention, it has been found unnecessary to use power tools, and the strapping may be brought about the bundle of logs manually and the buckle parts applied to the strapping manually, thus facilitating the use of the strapping and the buckle. This is particularly advantageous in the logging industry because the log bundles can be made up in places where there is no convenient source of power to operate strapping tools.

The strap buckle 16 is composed of two parts: a closed loop 18 and a U-bolt 20, as seen in the perspective views, Figs. 2 and 3. The loop and U-bolt are formed of steel bar preferably one-half inch in diameter, the bar being bent to the configuration shown and the ends of the bar in the loop being welded together as indicated at 22 to form the closed loop structure. It is possible to forge the loop 18 and U-bolt 20 in which case the welding operations would not be used. The method of manufacturing these parts is, therefore, optional.

The loop, 18 is rectangular and when designed for use with two inch strapping the rectangular central opening therein is a square of one-half inch bar measuring 21/2" x 2%. For the same size strapping the U-bolt 20 is formed of one-half inch bar, and has a rst and straight leg 24 about four inches long, a second leg 26 about three and one-half inches long, with a locking tip 28 projecting outwardly from the leg at right angles to the longitudinal dimension thereof, and away from the plane of the U-bolt at an angle of about 60 degrees. This locking tip is approximately five-eighths of an inch long. The two legs are connected to one end by a cross part or bight 3l) measuring 11%6. It is to be understood that these dimensions are illustrative only.

After the strapping 14 has been passed about the bundle of logs, the overlapping ends 14a and 14b thereof are folded back upon themselves to provide bights 14al and 14d. The bights are then threaded through the loop assassin 18 so that the strap appears as shown in Fig. 4, with the bight 14C on the opposite side or face of the loop from the bight 14d. The U-bolt 20 is then threaded through the bights 14e and 14d, as shown in Fig. 5, the leg 24 projecting through the bight 14o and the leg 25 and locking tip 23 extending through the bight 14d so that the closed end 3h of the U-bolt is brought to bear against a side 32 of the loop 18.

It is appreciated that all of these Steps can be carried out manually, the strap being folded back upon itself manually and threaded through the loop manually, and the U-bolt legs passed through the strapping bights 14C and 14d manually. When the strap is released it takes the position shown in Fig. 5, and it is not necessarily under any great amount of tension. When, however, tension is applied to the strap, it would like to pull free of the loop 18 but is resisted by the U-bolt 20, the legs 24 of which are longer than the distance between the loops opposite sides 32 and 34 which are interconnected by the sides 36 and 38. Therefore, the legs 24 and 26 are held against the sides 32 and 34 of the loop 18 and the strapping ends are snubbed around the sides 36 and 38, as shown most clearly in Fig. 7. The greater the tension in the strapping 14, the greater the force applied to the buckle parts holding them together and clamping the strapping ends between the U-bolt leg 2d and side 36 of the closed loop and between the leg 26 and side 38.

However, it should be noted that there is initially some play in the connection of the strap and the buckle parts 18 and 20, so that when the log bundle strikes the Water in the manner shown in Fig. l, the logs can shift internally within the bundle and without putting an excessive amount of strain upon the strap which would cause it to break. Once the buckle parts have assumed the position shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the U-bolt will not slip free of the loop 18 because the projection 23 is hooked about the loop side 34 to prevent withdrawal ofthe U-bolt until and unless the connection is deliberately opened.

It is apparent from the foregoing description that the objects claimed for this invention are fully met by the device illustrated and described.

While a preferred embodiment of the strap buckle constituting this invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that modications and variations thereof may be made without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. lt is, therefore, desired, by the following claims, to include within the scope of the invention all such variations and modifications by which substantially the results of this invention may be obtained through the use of substantially the same or equivalent means.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

l. A connection between adjacent ends of metallic bundle binding strapping wherein each strapping end is folded back on itself to form a strapping bight, comprising in combination a closed rectangular loop defined by four side members and through the opposite sides of which the strapping bights project, and a U-bolt having paraliel legs longer than the sides of said loop and having an outer width at the closed end greater than the inner space between the opposite side members of said loop, said bolt legs projecting through the strapping bights and bearing against the opposite faces of said loop to clamp the strapping between said bolt legs and opposite side members of said loop thereby to prevent the strapping from pulling through said loop when a load is applied in tension to the strapping, and the closed end of said bolt lying dagonaliy across one of the other side members of said loop.

2. A connection between adjacent ends of metallic bundle binding strapping wherein each strapping end is folded back on itself to form a strapping bight, comprising in combination a closed rectangular loop defined by four side members and through the opposite sides of which the strapping bights project, and a U-bolt having parallel legs longer than the sides of said loop and having an outer width at the closed end greater than the inner space between the opposite side members of said loop, said bolt legs projecting through the strapping bights and bearing against the opposite faces of said loop to clamp the strapping between said bolt legs and opposite side members of said loop thereby to prevent the strapping from pulling through said loop when a load is applied in tension to the strapping, and the closed end of said bolt lying diagonally across one of the other side members of said loop, and means on one of said bolt legs engageable with said loop and cooperating with the closed end of said bolt to restrain said U-bolt against accidental withdrawal from the strapping bights.

3. A connection between adjacent ends of metallic bundle binding strapping wherein each strapping end is folded back on itself to form a strapping bight, comprising in combination a closed rectangular loop defined by four side members and through the opposite sides of ywhich the strapping bights project, and the U-bolt having parallel legs longer than the sides of said loop and having an outer width at the closed end greater than the inner space between the opposite side members of said loop, said bolt legs projecting through the strapping bights and bearing against the opposite faces of said loop to seat the strapping against the loop thereby to prevent the strapping from pulling through said loop when a load is applied in tension to the strapping, and the closed end of said bolt lying diagonally across one of the side members of said loop, and a locking tip at the free end of one of said U-bolt legs and engageable with said loop to cooperate with the closed end of said bolt in restraining said U-bolt against accidental withdrawal from the strapping bights.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,405 Brodie Apr. 27, 1869 733,950 Eddleman July 21, 1903 1,274,030 France ---l July 30, 1918 

